Bakalorz: 'We've made history'

vor 2 Stunden

Marvin Bakalorz (r.) was overcome with emotion after Paderborn clinched promotion to the Bundesliga It was a nervy afternoon for Bakalorz and Co., who had to come from behind to beat Aalen The German midfielder (r.) highlighted the club's collective spirit as one of the key reasons behind their unexpected success over the course of the 2013/14 campaign

Paderborn - The football Gods must have been shining on as SC Paderborn 07 came from behind to beat VfR Aalen and clinch their first ever promotion to the Bundesliga on Sunday afternoon.

Bursting with pride and ready to indulge in the city-wide revelry, the 24-year-old midfielder checked in with bundesliga.com for an exclusive pre-party interview...

bundesliga.com: Marvin Bakalorz, many congratulations on being promoted to the Bundesliga. Have you taken it all in yet?

Marvin Bakalorz: No, I can't quite get my head around it. No one expected it. The fact that we've actually been promoted is unbeliveable. Teams like Köln and Kaiserslautern dare to dream, but not a single one of us saw it coming. To be promoted like this is amazing. I can't put it into words.

bundesliga.com: The game didn't exactly get off to a good start, with the team going behind to an early goal. Did you think that maybe automatic promotion wasn't meant to be at that point?

Bakalorz: No, because we know how strong we are. We've gone 1-0 down plenty of times before. How we came back today is a reflection of our entire season. We're so strong and know exactly what each of us are capable of. We've all got each other's backs. We've made history. Our names will be immortalisd here at the stadium after this.

bundesliga.com: It was a close game right up until the last. Aalen really cranked up the pressure. What was it like for you during the last three minutes?

Bakalorz: It was the longest three minutes of my life. I'd already been taken off and all I could do was stand on the sidelines praying to the football Gods that it would stay as it is.

bundesliga.com: Were you and the team kept informed about how Fürth were getting on throughout the game?

Bakalorz: Not at any point did we hear anything from Fürth. That honestly didn't matter to us.

bundesliga.com: You played in the Bundesliga during your time at Eintracht Frankfurt. Can you give the others a taste of what's to come?

Bakalorz: My playing time in the Bundesliga was pretty negligible, so there's not really anything I can tell the guys. We can't wait for the new season. As a footballer, you always want to play in the top division. Now we can look forward to playing at the Westfalenstadion, the Allianz Arena, in Gladbach and at Schalke. I still can't believe it.

bundesliga.com: What's on the agenda this evening?

Bakalorz: We're going to party until we drop. Paderdorn's earned it. The people here are just so nice and they're all football-mad. I'm just so happy.